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Monday, August 01, 2011

In a few weeks, I'll be leading a workshop called "Extreme Food Writing Makeover" at the upcoming Vida Vegan Food Blogging Conference. While preparing for this talk, I've been thinking about how cliché some food terms have become, even among the culinary cogniscenti. Language is as organic and fluid as cooking. Just as we continually sample new foods to keep our palettes sharp, it's also important to "taste" new verbs, adjectives and metaphors.

Here's my list of 100 overused culinary words/phrases, gleaned from high-brow publications like Bon Appétit, menus, restaurant reviews, blogs [including my own], tweets and status updates. This list is not a manifesto, nor is it meant to chastise anyone's writing – I am certainly just as guilty as anyone of overusing some of these terms. Consider this list as a challenge to stretch the conventional boundaries of culinary writing and break out of the writing habits we all fall into. Feel free to add your peeves as comments. And to use this list as the foundation a trend that I predict will soon sweep the nation: for Food Cliché Bingo.

Vegan [as an adjective]: "Plant-based," to me, is so much more descriptive.

Artisanal: Yawn

All Rachel Ray-isms, including but not limited to yumm-o, "stoop," EVOO and sammies

Farm-raised: Just skip it. Or be more specific, eg, "hydroponically raised" or "fresh from the factory farm"

Wilted: In a recipe for my upcoming cookbook, I used the direction "Roast the eggplant until it's pooped." "Correct verb use?" the copyeditor queried. "Stet (editor-speak for let it be)," I replied.

35 comments:

I agree with most of these! Especially "cloying", which I think has a negative connotation.

I was at a restaurant yesterday where I overheard someone ask the waitperson "can you tell me about the steak". He replied, "It's a steak with crunchy things on top". I could have described the steak better than that, and I haven't eaten one in over 10 years. Pitiful.

Your list has left me -- speechless!!;) Seriously, I agree about the overuse of many of these terms and phrases that have now become cliche. But it begs the question: so what words should we use to describe food?? And once that list is drawn up, will it, too succumb to being cliche from overuse??I was obsessed with words before I became obsessed with food, so I find this subject especially interesting!

@Robin: I'm with you. And I think, yes, since language and the art of writing is fluid, new cliches (and new genius!) will continually emerge. Obviously, there are times when using these words is unavoidable. As I say in the intro, it's not a manifesto or a "blacklist." (What bothers me may be perfectly fine to someone else). I wrote this list as an impetus for those of us who write about food to reach beyond the "generic" aisle of culinary terms.

I am guilty of so many of these! We all are, I'm sure. :)You've always been one of my favorite veg bloggers because of your talent with descriptive writing. I'm very much looking forward to your workshop at VVC; I'll be there!

Damn! Now I REALLY wish I'd won the Coconut Bliss "last remaining ticket" giveaway--I'm dying to know which non-hackneyed food writing terms you'll be replacing these buggered old ones with! Will you be posting them?

What a relief! I couldn't agree more. I think it's not so much that the words themselves are overused, but that they stumble from our lazy mind and not our inspired heart. Even the gazillion-times repeated "beautiful" can spring to new life unexpectedly when uttered (or written) in genuine astonishment and wonder. Sparingly, of course (so sad, what became of "awesome").

Still, I think I would have enjoyed and benefited from whatever you're planning. Sorry to be missing that...

I think there are two kinds of people who have a right use the word "deconstructed" in reference to food: 1) people who are genuinely practicing the highly refined and insanely technical art of molecular gastronomy (Ferran Adria, Herve This, Grant Achatz, Jose Andres, Heston Blumenthal, et al), and 2) critics who genuinely understand the motive behind the art and the degree of mastery required to make the grade.

On the other hand, the finest food and the lousiest food all become poo (a sobering thought for us cooks), but poo is merely food that has been battered, crushed, shredded, chemically dissolved, denatured, devalued, fermented, dehydrated, and extruded--not deconstructed.

I'm pretty over the term "food porn" to describe photos of food. I like sexy food....and who doesn't like sexy porn...I just don't necessarily need to consider those two in tandem. We all like looking at pictures of kitties but we don't call that "kittie porn". At least we really REALLY shouldn't...

Creamy with a K. This reminds me that I am sick of all weird spellings that "veganize" not vegan foods, eg "cheez," "ribz" "kreem." Changing the spelling does not make these things vegan--not including animal products does.

Anonymouse: If you had attended the conference, you would have learned some alternative ideas. And if you had actually read the post, you would have noticed that it's not a manifesto; it's food for thought.

I'm also teaching a "Spice Up your Food Writing" Class at the Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC on July 15, where you can learn how to perk up your writing- and how to sign your name.